Any EULA will be debated in a court and shunned if deemed abusive. There have been precedents both to support this as well as otherwise (simple google search). It really only depends on how good a lawyer you get. The fact that nobody tried this against Cryptic yet doesn't mean it's not possible.
As for the MS case, it's doubtful it's over. Give it time. I'm leaning towards the belief that MS will do everything in their power to "collect" what they've lost. Hopefully, it'll set an example.
Any person can take any company to court with or without reason in a country which allows him to do so. The question is why doesn't he if he thinks he will win. The question is whether the Court will even look at it. He can sue God. He definitely can. The FACT is almost ALL the online game developers have made more changes to their EULAs in the last 5 years, particularly since Turbine changed DDO from subscription to free-to-play, resulting in the wholesale changes and the almost total "loss" of ownership of virtual items the players thought they have purchased with the money they paid for subscription but in reality still owned by Turbine. So man had sued God. Not only once but twice but humanoids have never sued any game developers on terms regarding VIRTUAL items with no real world values attached to it. No! Not even a monkey.
Talk is cheap, even cheapest than the tangible value of a virtual item. Yes, that's right! The ENTIRE online gaming industry has taken away almost ALL the virtual items from their subscription members, but Cryptic only offer less item players can "buy" with Trade Bar after the recent change. Even a monkey can tell if a game developer is allowed to take away your LIFETIME "ownership" of ALL "virtual item" in the game, it is absolutely allowed to change a what they offer in a virtual shop within the game.
Again, how MS handles xbox users is THEIR business with the XBOX users under THEIR AGREEMENTS with THEIR users. They have no position in how CRYPTIC handles their players in their games under the EULA BETWEEN THEM AND THEIR PLAYERS. MS is not a NWO player under the NWO EULA. MS has said nothing. AFAIK, you do not represent MS, at least, you have not properly identified yourself as a representative of MS. Even if you are one. If you want to talk about the XBOX EULA, sorry, wrong forums. It belongs in the MS XBOX forums.
Because of a little something called cost-effectiveness. Maybe you've heard of that.
ROFL!!! ROFL!!!! ROFL!!! ROFL!!! ROFL!!! Translation: that's all talk... did I mention talk is even cheapest than the tangible value of a virtual item, which is ZERO? Stop talking and starting taking action if you want. Go ahead, make my day!!!
I am new. Not even level 20. Will this game be enjoyable if I plan on spending NO money?
You have to spend money to at least get an Epic Zen mount and extra bank space. If not, you are in for a hard time.
just save AD convert to zen. get a zen mount so you have it for all characters on same amount. have some alt characters with own guild and get guild bank space there with AD.
I am taking action. In a cost-effective way. I'm doing everything I can to "enlighten" people about what's happening here, in as many places as I possibly can. Spare them some possible to-come grief. Have you noticed the false advertisement on Steam, regarding what MOD9 brings? Hehe...
Since I haven't spent anything, I have no reason to file a legal complaint. Those who have (spent) however, do have a reason. Although, if I were them, I'd wait to see what happens with MS, first. (if anything happens; there's always that possibility as well)
There are people hell-bent on principles in this world. Who's to say Cryptic hasn't come across one with this move? Or that they won't in the future? Fun times.
I am taking action. In a cost-effective way. I'm doing everything I can to "enlighten" people about what's happening here, in as many places as I possibly can. Spare them some possible to-come grief. Have you noticed the false advertisement on Steam, regarding what MOD9 brings? Hehe...
Since I haven't spent anything, I have no reason to file a legal complaint. Those who have (spent) however, do have a reason. Although, if I were them, I'd wait to see what happens with MS, first. (if anything happens; there's always that possibility as well)
There are people hell-bent on principles in this world. Who's to say Cryptic hasn't come across one with this move? Or that they won't in the future? Fun times.
If you don't realize players have been "enlightened" the last 5 years, you are the one who needs some enlightenment. Educated consumers know what they pay for. It is their responsibilities with their wallets after all. If you don't know what "all-you-can-eat-buffets" with "the menu is subject to change without notice" means, only God can help you. Not every consumer is so stupid. Some little kids may stomp their feet when their parents are broke, but they get what they paid for. Some smarter customers may not like what the sale pitches a shop pulls on them, but they keep their mouths shut when they are doing the same things in their own shops.
If you don't realize players have been "enlightened" the last 5 years, you are the one who needs some enlightenment. Educated consumers know what they pay for. It is their responsibilities with their wallets after all. If you don't know what "all-you-can-eat-buffets" with "the menu is subject to change without notice" means, only God can help you. Not every consumer is so stupid. Some little kids may stomp their feet when their parents are broke, but they get what they paid for. Some smarter customers may not like what the sale pitches a shop pulls on them, but they keep their mouths shut when they are doing the same things in their own shops.
Then there's no harm in me continuing to give them exact details about what's going on here, so that information goes out to the educated customer and otherwise alike.
Pardon me while I go educate myself. You stay here and keep posting how much you know about all gaming companies and switching the course mid-meal on your customer.
0
santralafaxMember, NW M9 PlaytestPosts: 2,896Arc User
I am taking action. In a cost-effective way. I'm doing everything I can to "enlighten" people about what's happening here, in as many places as I possibly can. Spare them some possible to-come grief. Have you noticed the false advertisement on Steam, regarding what MOD9 brings? Hehe...
Since I haven't spent anything, I have no reason to file a legal complaint. Those who have (spent) however, do have a reason. Although, if I were them, I'd wait to see what happens with MS, first. (if anything happens; there's always that possibility as well)
There are people hell-bent on principles in this world. Who's to say Cryptic hasn't come across one with this move? Or that they won't in the future? Fun times.
If you don't realize players have been "enlightened" the last 5 years, you are the one who needs some enlightenment. Educated consumers know what they pay for. It is their responsibilities with their wallets after all. If you don't know what "all-you-can-eat-buffets" with "the menu is subject to change without notice" means, only God can help you. Not every consumer is so stupid. Some little kids may stomp their feet when their parents are broke, but they get what they paid for. Some smarter customers may not like what the sale pitches a shop pulls on them, but they keep their mouths shut when they are doing the same things in their own shops.
Customers complain, and educate the shopkeeper as well. Sometimes they walk.
Um....you guys do realize that laying out the way you still earn a months VIP without spending $$ for it (ZEN) is making this post a nice resource of what to "Fix" next or the next "balancing" of the in-game economy.
Right ?
This was the sole reason this whole change took place. Coals and Pres Packs gave people a very easy way to gather AD (make a few enchants every month-sell-buy more VIP) and renew.
Including me. I've farmed my way all the way to VIP 7 without spending a DIME.
This is a trend easilly measurable on Cryptic's PWE's side and what happened was only a matter of time and purchase monitoring.
For me VIP ain't worth it's price anymore or at least its value has been greatly diminished to the point where it will soon be better to keep my farmed AD and just buy what I want from the AH right off the bat and not flush it down another month of VIP
The OP's poing on ZAX prices going high is a very good point.
Price goes up and VIP has Effectively been turned into another AD sink. Spend 400-500K on sth that MIGHT bring you a great reward out of a lockbox or maybe borderline make enough ad for next month's VIP.
And what ? PWE/Cryptic brass thinks that we're gonna jump over to our wallets to go for more VIP ?
I won't be suprised if they roll back to the 24K ad refinement limit soon and just blatantly admit "we think you guys are making too much in-game currency too easy"
The only thing I'll probably miss will be the Injury immunity but I think I'll be able to live without it sans VIP.
I do understand the need to make money and support a "Free" to play game but these neurotic rollbacks to services and their value is something I've never seen before.
I'd spend real hard cash in NW if there was real content and no mind numbing repetition, I just Did a few days ago. Spent €100 on another game's preorder without even thinking about it.
Why ? Because CONTENT, Because BALANCE because I saw/heard a content manager Live talking about how they shaped the game/gameplay according to the feedback they got on the forums....went there read forums and did confirm myself in-game that they indeed balanced/implemented changes to make a game along the lines of what people suggested so that it's more enjoyable and fun to play.
In NW's case what happened is the exact opposite and it drives me insane.
Content was removed and is being reintroduced in dumbed down trivial short versions even against the player base's suggestion. Just like what happened in MOD 6....people URGED the content managers devs or whoever was monitoring feedback at that time to not go forward with the changes. We all saw what happened.
This is just insane....
I came back here after a long mod 6-7 hiatus thinking "hey! they're on a good pace with the game. It's looking like it's going to a nice direction" then came this change. then came the NEW-OLD dungeons....that are nothing like the OLD and I wouldn't dare compare them to what they used to be.
Too bad. It makes me sad and I'll miss a lot of good people/friends I made since I got back on
Signposts save time, vip still pays for itself, but I miss preswards the most. Coals are things used rarely, and 100% guarrenteed to work. Preswards though, buy in bulk, and zerg that 5% chance.
Trying for a mythic wheel atm. 120k already down the drain. "Free" tbar wards used to make it a lot less painful.
I am new. Not even level 20. Will this game be enjoyable if I plan on spending NO money?
Play the game without paying anything up to level 70.
If you have fun all the way, you might consider to get ZEN through the ARC web page, so that you get Bonus ZEN and the First Time Buyer Pack. Two things you won't get, if you buy ZEN through for example Steam... Then get any cheap epic account-wide mount from the ZEN shop with your ZEN, and if something is left, save it up until you have gotten more ZEN through the ZAX (AD to ZEN exchange) to buy ViP with a discount coupon or when there is another 50% sale.
Before all these latest changes i would have encouraged new players to buy the mount directly, now i encourage them to play the game for free until they reach level 70 and have experienced the game more or less fully without spending anything.
ViP might still be worth something, if you can get it with AD. But ViP to be worth real money again, Cryptic/PWE would have to improve it again...
I'd spend real hard cash in NW if there was real content and no mind numbing repetition, I just Did a few days ago. Spent €100 on another game's preorder without even thinking about it.
Why ? Because CONTENT, Because BALANCE because I saw/heard a content manager Live talking about how they shaped the game/gameplay according to the feedback they got on the forums....went there read forums and did confirm myself in-game that they indeed balanced/implemented changes to make a game along the lines of what people suggested so that it's more enjoyable and fun to play.
In NW's case what happened is the exact opposite and it drives me insane.
Content was removed and is being reintroduced in dumbed down trivial short versions even against the player base's suggestion. Just like what happened in MOD 6....people URGED the content managers devs or whoever was monitoring feedback at that time to not go forward with the changes. We all saw what happened.
This is just insane....
I came back here after a long mod 6-7 hiatus thinking "hey! they're on a good pace with the game. It's looking like it's going to a nice direction" then came this change. then came the NEW-OLD dungeons....that are nothing like the OLD and I wouldn't dare compare them to what they used to be.
Too bad. It makes me sad and I'll miss a lot of good people/friends I made since I got back on
ditto on the preorder. and combat is amazingly fun there as well. no dnd world though...
I have in the past recommended that people get VIP - it does offer definite quality-of-live benefits (like the signpost) and the daily key allows the VIP to more than pay for itself. If you sold all the lockbox drops (possibly "upgrading" the Genie's Gift first), you would get back what the VIP cost you in the first place and you should be left with around 200-250K AD in profit per month.
Add to this the fact that you could spend your trade bars to cover your preservation/coalescent ward needs, and the VIP was a pretty sweet deal - one of the best ideas they have had in a while.
This just changed.
So, is the VIP still profitable?
At this point, I have to ask - "who cares"? The TBar nerf is just the latest in such a long series of fan-unfriendly moves by the developers that I've finally learned (I'm really slow at that, it appears) it DOES NOT MATTER. Whatever you buy today with whatever AD you earn from VIP WILL get nerfed.
Do you realize this game is not officially 3 years old yet? And we've seen how many paradigm shifts? I can count at least 5 - mod 9 will represent the 6th (because of the mounts, and this Tbar nerf ahead of it). Each time, the previous gear/mounts/companions became significantly less valuable in end game content. For example - just a month ago purple Axebeaks were selling for nearly 4M AD on the AH (I know, I sold one!) Next month's big reveal of the new mount system will make that 4M AD seem like wasted effort to whoever I sold that mount to...again.
By the fall, there will be a mod 10, and much of what was of value in mod 8 will start getting nerfed. And don't even THINK about anything from mod 7 or before.
And so it goes.
0
plasticbatMember, NW M9 PlaytestPosts: 12,417Arc User
Do you realize this game is not officially 3 years old yet? And we've seen how many paradigm shifts? I can count at least 5 - mod 9 will represent the 6th (because of the mounts, and this Tbar nerf ahead of it). Each time, the previous gear/mounts/companions became significantly less valuable in end game content. For example - just a month ago purple Axebeaks were selling for nearly 4M AD on the AH (I know, I sold one!) Next month's big reveal of the new mount system will make that 4M AD seem like wasted effort to whoever I sold that mount to...again.
By the fall, there will be a mod 10, and much of what was of value in mod 8 will start getting nerfed. And don't even THINK about anything from mod 7 or before.
And so it goes.
In the case of Axbeaks, it may not. It is now close to 6M because people speculates it will be even higher in mod 9. Tensor's disc is 18M at the moment.
*** The game can read your mind. If you want it, you won't get it. If you don't expect to get it, you will. ***
0
adinosiiMember, NW M9 PlaytestPosts: 4,294Arc User
In the case of Axbeaks, it may not. It is now close to 6M because people speculates it will be even higher in mod 9. Tensor's disc is 18M at the moment.
Well, all epic and legendary mounts will bring useful bonuses with Mod 9. Most of the epic ones boost one stat by 2000 and the legendary ones by 4000. Tenser's Disk is different (and grossly overpowered IMO), which is why it is the most expensive one. Also, those mounts have more insignia slots than green or blue ones ... meaning more bonuses from insignia and better bonus powers for specific insignia combinations. The increase in price of purple and legendary mounts is perfectly understandable at the moment.
I'd spend real hard cash in NW if there was real content and no mind numbing repetition, I just Did a few days ago. Spent €100 on another game's preorder without even thinking about it.
Why ? Because CONTENT, Because BALANCE because I saw/heard a content manager Live talking about how they shaped the game/gameplay according to the feedback they got on the forums....went there read forums and did confirm myself in-game that they indeed balanced/implemented changes to make a game along the lines of what people suggested so that it's more enjoyable and fun to play.
In NW's case what happened is the exact opposite and it drives me insane.
Content was removed and is being reintroduced in dumbed down trivial short versions even against the player base's suggestion. Just like what happened in MOD 6....people URGED the content managers devs or whoever was monitoring feedback at that time to not go forward with the changes. We all saw what happened.
This is just insane....
I came back here after a long mod 6-7 hiatus thinking "hey! they're on a good pace with the game. It's looking like it's going to a nice direction" then came this change. then came the NEW-OLD dungeons....that are nothing like the OLD and I wouldn't dare compare them to what they used to be.
Too bad. It makes me sad and I'll miss a lot of good people/friends I made since I got back on
ditto on the preorder. and combat is amazingly fun there as well. no dnd world though...
True ! ^.^ I can say the combat is equally rewarding and TBH I like that it's not "cast locked" and u actually need to pay attention to what direction you are facing and aim for it!. It's different, challenging and uber fun for sure.
As far as DnD is concerned...You lose some, you win some. The GFX, world and frikkin hundreds of quests will prolly make up for it xD.
Even NW has been losing its DnDiness if you may....unless it was Dungeons and Demons all along xD Plus....Dungeons?!?! Where?!?!? :P
This was the sole reason this whole change took place. Coals and Pres Packs gave people a very easy way to gather AD (make a few enchants every month-sell-buy more VIP) and renew.
Wards do not generate AD. They have no impact on the economy. Their prices are affected by the current economy: AD generation and AD/enchant availability. The economy was fine...
The fact that a character progresses faster doesn't mean that they can inject more AD into the game. AD generation (which wasn't altered by the removal of wards) is what defines the economy, in NW's case. The only thing they did was to slow (mostly) everyone down.
Well, all epic and legendary mounts will bring useful bonuses with Mod 9. Most of the epic ones boost one stat by 2000 and the legendary ones by 4000. Tenser's Disk is different (and grossly overpowered IMO), which is why it is the most expensive one. Also, those mounts have more insignia slots than green or blue ones ... meaning more bonuses from insignia and better bonus powers for specific insignia combinations. The increase in price of purple and legendary mounts is perfectly understandable at the moment.
Considering RNG on mounts from lockboxes, it's safe to assume that mounts are pretty much ZEN only products. Again, pushing people towards even more paying/farming=grinding than there is now. While the rework on mounts is nice, turning to them for character progression is the equivalent of turning to ZEN Market Coalescent Wards.
Um....you guys do realize that laying out the way you still earn a months VIP without spending $$ for it (ZEN) is making this post a nice resource of what to "Fix" next or the next "balancing" of the in-game economy. ...
ViP = real money ZEN has to be bought with real money, before it can be exchanged for AD.
Which also raises the question, why are they not improving ViP, to keep the players "subscripted" and in game?
I suppose bottom line for me with vip will be if the zax is fluid, I'll keep exchanging ad for zen to buy a month's worth, if the zax goes into 500 and backlog then I'll pass.
Um....you guys do realize that laying out the way you still earn a months VIP without spending $$ for it (ZEN) is making this post a nice resource of what to "Fix" next or the next "balancing" of the in-game economy. ...
Which also raises the question, why are they not improving ViP, to keep the players "subscripted" and in game?
That's a very good Question my friend. One that only Cryptic/PWE can answer.
If they don't do sth to improve its value and make already subscribed players feel they haven't been completely ripped off, I can only assume they'll put an end to it very soon with some lame excuse along the lines of "we feel our esteemed VIP players are not getting enough value for their money" and make us cry tears of blood.
To start with, it Looks like they "upped" the Tarm Bar yield from the lockboxes. I've been getting no less than 10-15 per box since the change. Anyone else can confirm this ?
I suppose bottom line for me with vip will be if the zax is fluid, I'll keep exchanging ad for zen to buy a month's worth, if the zax goes into 500 and backlog then I'll pass.
I hear you bruthah. If I continue playing at all post mod 9 or post other game launch this sunday I'm somewhere along the same path. I've survived this game without the VIP benefits. I'll pass too in that case
Um....you guys do realize that laying out the way you still earn a months VIP without spending $$ for it (ZEN) is making this post a nice resource of what to "Fix" next or the next "balancing" of the in-game economy. ...
Which also raises the question, why are they not improving ViP, to keep the players "subscripted" and in game?
That's a very good Question my friend. One that only Cryptic/PWE can answer.
If they don't do sth to improve its value and make already subscribed players feel they haven't been completely ripped off, I can only assume they'll put an end to it very soon with some lame excuse along the lines of "we feel our esteemed VIP players are not getting enough value for their money" and make us cry tears of blood.
To start with, it Looks like they "upped" the Tarm Bar yield from the lockboxes. I've been getting no less than 10-15 per box since the change. Anyone else can confirm this ?
Not really, i opened two lockboxes recently, 1 Trade Bar with some blue box alongside it, then 6 Trade Bars and another blue box. I had some AD sitting around, put it into the ZAX for ZEN and bought a 20 keys pack with it, and i'm going to look a bit closer now on the TBs numbers. But i doubt that they have improved them... and 340 days ViP left on the clock, waiting for some real improvements on ViP.
Um....you guys do realize that laying out the way you still earn a months VIP without spending $$ for it (ZEN) is making this post a nice resource of what to "Fix" next or the next "balancing" of the in-game economy. ...
Which also raises the question, why are they not improving ViP, to keep the players "subscripted" and in game?
That's a very good Question my friend. One that only Cryptic/PWE can answer.
If they don't do sth to improve its value and make already subscribed players feel they haven't been completely ripped off, I can only assume they'll put an end to it very soon with some lame excuse along the lines of "we feel our esteemed VIP players are not getting enough value for their money" and make us cry tears of blood.
To start with, it Looks like they "upped" the Tarm Bar yield from the lockboxes. I've been getting no less than 10-15 per box since the change. Anyone else can confirm this ?
Not really, i opened two lockboxes recently, 1 Trade Bar with some blue box alongside it, then 6 Trade Bars and another blue box. I had some AD sitting around, put it into the ZAX for ZEN and bought a 20 keys pack with it, and i'm going to look a bit closer now on the TBs numbers. But i doubt that they have improved them... and 340 days ViP left on the clock, waiting for some real improvements on ViP.
Oh man 340 days?!?!?!
0
thefabricantMember, NW M9 PlaytestPosts: 5,248Arc User
VIP is worth it if you push for rank 12, the amount you will save on superior marks alone will pay off VIP, the dungeon keys will bring you profit if you farm dungeons on multiple characters and the lockbox keys are just the icing on the cake.
Um....you guys do realize that laying out the way you still earn a months VIP without spending $$ for it (ZEN) is making this post a nice resource of what to "Fix" next or the next "balancing" of the in-game economy. ...
Which also raises the question, why are they not improving ViP, to keep the players "subscripted" and in game?
That's a very good Question my friend. One that only Cryptic/PWE can answer.
If they don't do sth to improve its value and make already subscribed players feel they haven't been completely ripped off, I can only assume they'll put an end to it very soon with some lame excuse along the lines of "we feel our esteemed VIP players are not getting enough value for their money" and make us cry tears of blood.
To start with, it Looks like they "upped" the Tarm Bar yield from the lockboxes. I've been getting no less than 10-15 per box since the change. Anyone else can confirm this ?
Not really, i opened two lockboxes recently, 1 Trade Bar with some blue box alongside it, then 6 Trade Bars and another blue box. I had some AD sitting around, put it into the ZAX for ZEN and bought a 20 keys pack with it, and i'm going to look a bit closer now on the TBs numbers. But i doubt that they have improved them... and 340 days ViP left on the clock, waiting for some real improvements on ViP.
Oh man 340 days?!?!?!
Yep, i went all the way up to ViP rank 12 right from the start.
Update on the TB numbers from 20 lockboxes: 3, 5, 10, 10, 5, 6, 3, 8, 4, 19, 10, 11, 7, 10, 10, 16, 6, 5, 10, 2
Which would have been at least 2 Coals with the old system, now i have to wait to get another 640 (?) Trade Bars, so that i can buy a companion and sell it... And the rest of the lockboxes loot were some random blue boxes again.
Anyway, i wouldn't mind seeing some usefull perks in the near future for rank 18 or even 24...
Comments
Talk is cheap, even cheapest than the tangible value of a virtual item. Yes, that's right! The ENTIRE online gaming industry has taken away almost ALL the virtual items from their subscription members, but Cryptic only offer less item players can "buy" with Trade Bar after the recent change. Even a monkey can tell if a game developer is allowed to take away your LIFETIME "ownership" of ALL "virtual item" in the game, it is absolutely allowed to change a what they offer in a virtual shop within the game.
Again, how MS handles xbox users is THEIR business with the XBOX users under THEIR AGREEMENTS with THEIR users. They have no position in how CRYPTIC handles their players in their games under the EULA BETWEEN THEM AND THEIR PLAYERS. MS is not a NWO player under the NWO EULA. MS has said nothing. AFAIK, you do not represent MS, at least, you have not properly identified yourself as a representative of MS. Even if you are one. If you want to talk about the XBOX EULA, sorry, wrong forums. It belongs in the MS XBOX forums.
Since I haven't spent anything, I have no reason to file a legal complaint. Those who have (spent) however, do have a reason. Although, if I were them, I'd wait to see what happens with MS, first. (if anything happens; there's always that possibility as well)
There are people hell-bent on principles in this world. Who's to say Cryptic hasn't come across one with this move? Or that they won't in the future? Fun times.
Pardon me while I go educate myself. You stay here and keep posting how much you know about all gaming companies and switching the course mid-meal on your customer.
Right ?
This was the sole reason this whole change took place. Coals and Pres Packs gave people a very easy way to gather AD
(make a few enchants every month-sell-buy more VIP) and renew.
Including me. I've farmed my way all the way to VIP 7 without spending a DIME.
This is a trend easilly measurable on Cryptic's PWE's side and what happened was only a matter of time and purchase monitoring.
For me VIP ain't worth it's price anymore or at least its value has been greatly diminished to the point where it will soon be better to keep my farmed AD and just buy what I want from the AH right off the bat and not flush it down another month of VIP
The OP's poing on ZAX prices going high is a very good point.
Price goes up and VIP has Effectively been turned into another AD sink. Spend 400-500K on sth that MIGHT bring you a great reward out of a lockbox or maybe borderline make enough ad for next month's VIP.
And what ? PWE/Cryptic brass thinks that we're gonna jump over to our wallets to go for more VIP ?
I won't be suprised if they roll back to the 24K ad refinement limit soon and just blatantly admit "we think you guys are making too much in-game currency too easy"
The only thing I'll probably miss will be the Injury immunity but I think I'll be able to live without it sans VIP.
I do understand the need to make money and support a "Free" to play game but these neurotic rollbacks to services and their value is something I've never seen before.
I'd spend real hard cash in NW if there was real content and no mind numbing repetition, I just Did a few days ago. Spent €100 on another game's preorder without even thinking about it.
Why ? Because CONTENT, Because BALANCE because I saw/heard a content manager Live talking about how they shaped the game/gameplay according to the feedback they got on the forums....went there read forums and did confirm myself in-game that they indeed balanced/implemented changes to make a game along the lines of what people suggested so that it's more enjoyable and fun to play.
In NW's case what happened is the exact opposite and it drives me insane.
Content was removed and is being reintroduced in dumbed down trivial short versions even against the player base's suggestion. Just like what happened in MOD 6....people URGED the content managers devs or whoever was monitoring feedback at that time to not go forward with the changes. We all saw what happened.
This is just insane....
I came back here after a long mod 6-7 hiatus thinking "hey! they're on a good pace with the game. It's looking like it's going to a nice direction" then came this change. then came the NEW-OLD dungeons....that are nothing like the OLD and I wouldn't dare compare them to what they used to be.
Too bad. It makes me sad and I'll miss a lot of good people/friends I made since I got back on
Trying for a mythic wheel atm. 120k already down the drain. "Free" tbar wards used to make it a lot less painful.
If you have fun all the way, you might consider to get ZEN through the ARC web page, so that you get Bonus ZEN and the First Time Buyer Pack.
Two things you won't get, if you buy ZEN through for example Steam...
Then get any cheap epic account-wide mount from the ZEN shop with your ZEN, and if something is left, save it up until you have gotten more ZEN through the ZAX (AD to ZEN exchange) to buy ViP with a discount coupon or when there is another 50% sale.
Before all these latest changes i would have encouraged new players to buy the mount directly, now i encourage them to play the game for free until they reach level 70 and have experienced the game more or less fully without spending anything.
ViP might still be worth something, if you can get it with AD.
But ViP to be worth real money again, Cryptic/PWE would have to improve it again...
Do you realize this game is not officially 3 years old yet? And we've seen how many paradigm shifts? I can count at least 5 - mod 9 will represent the 6th (because of the mounts, and this Tbar nerf ahead of it). Each time, the previous gear/mounts/companions became significantly less valuable in end game content. For example - just a month ago purple Axebeaks were selling for nearly 4M AD on the AH (I know, I sold one!) Next month's big reveal of the new mount system will make that 4M AD seem like wasted effort to whoever I sold that mount to...again.
By the fall, there will be a mod 10, and much of what was of value in mod 8 will start getting nerfed. And don't even THINK about anything from mod 7 or before.
And so it goes.
Tensor's disc is 18M at the moment.
It's different, challenging and uber fun for sure.
As far as DnD is concerned...You lose some, you win some.
The GFX, world and frikkin hundreds of quests will prolly make up for it xD.
Even NW has been losing its DnDiness if you may....unless it was Dungeons and Demons all along xD
Plus....Dungeons?!?! Where?!?!? :P
The fact that a character progresses faster doesn't mean that they can inject more AD into the game. AD generation (which wasn't altered by the removal of wards) is what defines the economy, in NW's case. The only thing they did was to slow (mostly) everyone down. About 20+ pages full of unique accounts who posted on the matter. These are the vocal ones. I can name quite a few more who don't use the forum. Considering RNG on mounts from lockboxes, it's safe to assume that mounts are pretty much ZEN only products. Again, pushing people towards even more paying/farming=grinding than there is now. While the rework on mounts is nice, turning to them for character progression is the equivalent of turning to ZEN Market Coalescent Wards.
ZEN has to be bought with real money, before it can be exchanged for AD.
Which also raises the question, why are they not improving ViP, to keep the players "subscripted" and in game?
One that only Cryptic/PWE can answer.
If they don't do sth to improve its value and make already subscribed players feel they haven't been completely ripped off, I can only assume they'll put an end to it very soon with some lame excuse along the lines of "we feel our esteemed VIP players are not getting enough value for their money" and make us cry tears of blood.
To start with, it Looks like they "upped" the Tarm Bar yield from the lockboxes.
I've been getting no less than 10-15 per box since the change.
Anyone else can confirm this ?
If I continue playing at all post mod 9 or post other game launch this sunday I'm somewhere along the same path.
I've survived this game without the VIP benefits. I'll pass too in that case
I had some AD sitting around, put it into the ZAX for ZEN and bought a 20 keys pack with it, and i'm going to look a bit closer now on the TBs numbers.
But i doubt that they have improved them... and 340 days ViP left on the clock, waiting for some real improvements on ViP.
Update on the TB numbers from 20 lockboxes: 3, 5, 10, 10, 5, 6, 3, 8, 4, 19, 10, 11, 7, 10, 10, 16, 6, 5, 10, 2
Which would have been at least 2 Coals with the old system, now i have to wait to get another 640 (?) Trade Bars, so that i can buy a companion and sell it...
And the rest of the lockboxes loot were some random blue boxes again.
Anyway, i wouldn't mind seeing some usefull perks in the near future for rank 18 or even 24...